Reducing Your Homeowners Insurance Premiums

The following is a guest post from a colleague of mine, Barbara Waltz over at 247Quoteus.com.

While the current economic climate has had varying effects on us, this period has caused a great deal of reflection into our spending habits. One of our larger monthly bills comes from various forms of insurances. Similar to car insurance, if you have a loan out on your current home, the lending institution almost certainly makes you purchase insurance on it, after all if something were to happen to it they would lose out on their investment. It is possible to find affordable homeowners insurance and still maintain great coverage.

Shop Around.

While it is a simple task that we often do for other purchases, many people over look it when it comes to insurances. Just because you are with your current company and have them for other policies does not necessarily mean they are going to give you the best rates. Rates vary greatly and so it is important to take this quick way of making sure you are getting affordable coverage.

Raise Your Deductible

Although it is sometimes considered risky, and if you live in an area prone to natural disasters then it certainly may be, for the most part is a quick fix to lower premiums. When raising a premium, it is important to make sure it is still low enough that you can afford to pay it if something were to happen to your home. There is a fine balance between making sure it is low enough to still pay but high enough to provide a good enough discount to make it worth doing. You know your finances better than anyone, and if a premium of a few thousand dollars would not be possible if it was ever needed then perhaps it is not worth it for your situation.

Policy Bundling

If you have your insurance through a larger company, they likely offer more than just home insurance. Putting your policies together with one firm can often times net a pretty good discount. Moving current coverage to a new company is an option, or if you are buying new policies then you should ask your current company what kind of discounts may be available.

Improving Your Home

A safe house is always going to be cheaper to insure than one that is risky. Having a security system, fire prevention systems or other such devices can lower your premiums. There are many options available and some allow for larger discounts with less investment from your side. Weigh your options and see what can give the best overall savings.

All insurance policies should be looked over on an annual basis to make sure that you still need that level of coverage and that you are not paying too much, the same is true with homeowners. Perhaps a few years ago you bought a nice LCD TV or computer and increased your policy value to reflect that, but now those items have depreciated and it may be more costly keeping them on the policy than removing them. By following these simple steps you can cut a bit off of your monthly premiums and over the duration of the stay in that home save quite a large sum.

This article was written by Barbara Waltz, an industry expert and one of the founders of a well known insurance blog.

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